Guest Post: How Graphic Novels are Made

As promised we have Neil Numberman and Aaron Reynolds with us today for a special guest blog post, talking about their newest book (to come out on the 23rd!!!), the graphic novel, Big Hairy Drama (Joey Fly, Private Eye, Book 2).

Welcome guys! I'm glad you could make it out to my blog today!

Aaron and Neil will be hanging around in the comments to answer any questions you have for them. ALSO...there is a contest!! So, hang around, read the post and make a comment and a random winner will be picked for every TEN comments. There will be several winners depending on the number of commenters, and the winners will receive their very own Bug Caricature by Neil. (Check out the caricatures Neil did of himself and Aaron at the end of this post.) Also, please leave your email address so I can email you if you win. Winners will be announced on Monday, Nov. 22nd.

So, without further ado, here we go on a bug adventure!!!

BUG MAKES IT BIG IN GRAPHIC NOVELS…HERE’S HOW

by Aaron Reynolds and Neil Numberman



(Interior. Aaron Reynolds, a writer of children’s books and graphic novels, is sitting at his writing desk. He’s typing, but suddenly stops when a shadow falls over his screen. It’s a kid, about ten or eleven.)

Aaron: (looking up) Hey.

Kid: Hey. Whatcha doin’?



Aaron: Um…writing. Who are you? What are you doing in my writing room?

Kid: I’m just some random kid.

Aaron: Ah. A random kid in my writing room. Okay.

Kid: Yeah. Act like I’m not here. (pause…Aaron starts to get back to work, but is interrupted) Aren’t you an author?

Aaron: (turning back around) Ignore you, huh? That’s gonna be tricky. Yeah. I write kid’s books and graphic novels.

Kid: Graphic novels? Like comic books?

Aaron: Kinda.



Kid: Whatcha writing now?



Aaron: An article about how a graphic novel gets made, but I wanted to write it LIKE a graphic novel, so that’s what I’m doing.



Kid: But…there’s no pictures. A graphic novel has lots of pictures.



Aaron: Not at first. Not mine anyway.

Kid: What?

Aaron: Seriously. I don’t draw.



Kid: I must have the wrong house then. I thought the dude that lives here makes graphic novels.



Aaron: I do. But I don’t draw them….I write them.



(Kid pauses while he thinks about this, then…)

Kid: That’s messed up.

Aaron: No, it’s not.



Kid: You can’t make a graphic novel without being able to draw.



Aaron: Well, I do. Like my new graphic novel…it’s called Joey Fly, Private Eye…



Kid: Way to work that in there. Nice plug. Smooth.

Aaron: Yeah, thanks. Well, Joey Fly starts out like this. A script, just like this one.

Kid: Just the stuff people say?



Aaron: Mostly. I also write in what I see happening in each scene.



(Kid flops into a big cushy chair and puts his feet on Aaron’s writing desk, makes himself at home. He looks at Aaron like he’s lost his mind.)



Aaron: See? Like that. It’s called “stage directions”.



Kid: Oh cool! Like actions and stuff!

Aaron: Yeah, exactly.



Kid: Do it again.

(Kid gets up, kind of excited now. He’s putting it all together in his head, but then he notices a fresh sandwich on Aaron’s desk. Goes over, lifts the bread…he’s kinda hungry…but decides he doesn’t like tuna. Flops back down in the chair.)

Kid: Hey, that’s awesome how you made me do all that stuff! And I do hate tuna.

Aaron: It’s a script. In the graphic novel, I write the story. I come up with the characters. In Joey Fly, Private Eye, I create what happens, what characters are in it, all that stuff. Then I put it into a story…a script like this.

Kid: But it’s not a graphic novel. No pictures.



Aaron: Not yet. It will be soon. But first, I break it into panels.

Kid: Panels?

Panel

Aaron: Like this. Chunks. How I imagine it will get broken into boxes in the finished graphic novel. This helps me figure out the flow and pacing of the story, helps me cut extra junk that’s not needed, and helps the illustrator figure out how he’s gonna lay out the pictures on the page.

Panel

Kid: Cool. I notice you use lots of words like “gonna” and “whatcha” and stuff. My Language Arts teacher would go nuts on you for that.



Panel

Aaron: Yeah, well… I try to write how people really talk. I think that’s important, especially for a graphic novel. It all depends on the character. Like, Joey Fly says some gonnas, but he also uses lots of detective-y phrases…

Panel

Joey: Life in the bug city. It ain’t easy. Crime sticks to this city like a one-winged fly on a fifty-cent swatter.



Panel

Aaron: Like that. That’s his opening line in the book.

Kid: Okay, that’s pretty funny.

Panel

Aaron: Well, I try.



Panel

Kid: But it’s still not a graphic novel.

Panel

Aaron: Man, for a random kid who shows up in my writing room, you’re seriously pushy.



Panel

Kid: Do you know many eleven-year-olds? We’re all like this.



Aaron: That’s right. Not being one, I forget sometimes.

Panel

Aaron: Well, now that it’s all broken into panels, I give it to my publisher. And once she’s happy with it, she sends it off to the illustrator and he starts drawing.

Panel

Kid: You tell him what to draw?



Aaron: No.


Panel

Kid: You tell him what the characters should look like?



Aaron: No.



Panel

Kid: What do you tell him?



Aaron: Nothing. Most of the time, we never even meet.



Panel

(pause…the kid’s mouth is hanging open.)

Panel

Kid: That is seriously messed up.



Panel

Aaron: That’s how it works. Unless you are the writer and the illustrator (which I’m not…I don’t draw, remember?), that’s how it works.



Panel:

Kid: So what happens then?

Aaron: The illustrator looks at it and begins to sketch out what he thinks the characters look like.



Panel

Aaron: Like, for Joey Fly, Private Eye, the illustrator is a guy named Neil Numberman.



Panel

Neil: Hey kid. What’s up? Hey Aaron.

Panel

Aaron: Hey Neil. So, Neil might decide after reading this script that you look like this:

Panel

Kid: That’s me?



Neil: Yep.



Panel

Kid: You made me a bug!



Neil: Well, we’re talking about Joey Fly, Private Eye, so I’m thinking in bugs. It’s my job to use my imagination, to come up with my ideas of what Aaron’s characters and story look like.



Panel

Kid: Cool.

Panel

Neil: And as I start drawing and figuring out what it all looks like, Aaron’s story moves away from being a script and I start creating real characters…

Neil: …and pretty soon, I take Aaron’s written words and begin to put them into the mouths of the characters I’ve created.

DIDN'T YOU JUST LOVE THAT? WAY COOL! I LOVE SEEING HOW THESE TYPES OF BOOKS ARE MADE. HERE'S A LITTLE MORE ABOUT THE CREATORS:

Aaron Reynolds is a human, not a bug, but he often writes about bugs. He is the author of Chicks and Salsa, Superhero School, Snowbots, and, of course, the Joey Fly, Private Eye graphic novels. Visit him at his website at http://www.aaron-reynolds.com/.

Neil Numberman is a termite currently residing in New York City. Joey Fly, Private Eye his first graphic novel series, but he is also the author/illustrator of the picture book Do NOT Build a Frankenstein. Stop by his website at http://www.neilnumberman.com/.

So, there you have it. And just for kicks I'm going to post the book trailer for book 2 for y'all to watch again 'cause it's just so darn cool!!

 

Thanks again to Neil and Aaron for being here today! And to all of you who came out! I will be in the comments off and on throughout the day. Hope you all enjoyed this as much as I did and can't wait to see who won the contest! Stay tuned!

Guest Blogger, Andrea Pearson!!!

Well, I was going to hold on to this until next week, but I'm moving next week! (crazy how time flies!) So, here you have it. Guest blogger, Andrea Pearson, my very own sweet cousin =).

To preface, I asked Andrea to write a little about her experience writing her book, getting to the published state and her plans for the future:

Writing is one of the most difficult things I've ever done. Conversely, it has also been one the most rewarding. I didn't start out my life wanting to be a writer. In fact, I made it through the first twenty years of my life not wanting to do it—I was more focused on painting and drawing. However, while serving a mission in Canada, I was forced to turn to writing as an outlet: my journal and the emails and letters I sent home. I found satisfaction in emotions and ideas put on paper.

After returning and getting through a few years of college, the opportunity finally arose to begin my story. It took me six weeks to writeThe Key of Kilenya and a year and a half to edit and revise it—which, if I'd known up front, would've killed me. I wrote it while working full time and taking the most credits allowed at BYU, including a three-hour business writing class. (It's a miracle I didn't burn out!) But my book became my outlet, and I was crazy about it. A friend introduced me toValor Publishing Group—and I submitted to them, waiting on pins and needles to hear what they thought of my book. They accepted it, and we signed on President's Day this past February (2010). I couldn't be happier with them!

There are many things I learned during this process. First, to never, ever have people read first drafts. This seems like a “no duh” thing, but I was so naïve, I was positive they'd fall in love with it as much as I had. Most of them did, but I should've waited and given them a better version, rather than deal with the criticism over a first draft.

Next, I learned to take every critique and suggestion with a grain of salt, including those from professional sources (though one should carefully consider what an experienced editor/author has to say). The only person who truly knows my story is me. No one can tell me to change the names of my characters, to use a different writing style, or to cut 40,000words (a suggestion from a professional editor, which I followed. Needlessto say, my current editor choose to use the previous version of the manuscript because it had meat in it. Sigh.), or to cut anything for that matter. Of course, if you've signed a deal with that person, then you should definitely listen to him/her. :-)

On the other hand, I learned if three or more people (from different sources) suggest or point out the same thing, without knowing others are saying it, then it's a legitimate concern. People ask me what I'm going to do with my time now that my book is about to be published. The answer is: write book two! The Key of Kilenya is the first in a series of six. With one book coming out each year, I've got my work cut out for me. Besides that, it'll take me at least twenty years,writing a book each year, to get through all my ideas. Regardless of whether my stories sell or not, I won't be happy unless they're on paper.:-)

For more information on my book, come visit my website:http://andreapearsonbooks.com. I love meeting new people, so introduce yourself to me through my blog or twitter (listed on my website). Thank you to Kathryn for allowing me the privilege of being a guest blogger!


Thank you Andrea for doing this! It is always great to hear that there are people out there getting published, it IS possible =). And you've really inspired me to keep on truckin' along. Writing is an incredible amount of work, but so exciting as well.